Showdown at the Toy Story Midway Mania

"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, 

A tale of a fateful trip

That started from this tropic port

Aboard this tiny ship. "

Haha, not really.  So in case you didn't know, we spent our one year anniversary at Walt Disney World in Florida.  This was one of the last rides we rode and boy was it epic.  The hubster had already romped me on the Buzz Lightyear ride, so the pressure was on.

Game faces on!

The hubster

Me 

Looky, what we have here.  Who had the green gun?  Go ahead scroll back up.  I'll wait.

It was ME! Bwahahahahaha, all the video gaming couldn't help the hubster.

So when we decided that we were headed to California Adventure, we knew it was on.  A rematch two years in the making.  We got into the 45 minute line (the longest we waited this entire trip and it was the very first ride we rode - we were not going to miss out on this).

Game faces on!  So intense!  Look at the concentration!  Let the trash talk begin!

Serious Bizness

And the outcome...



Sadly, I did not win this time around.  The secret is the green gun.  It was a valiant effort, but it was our anniversary, so I let him win!  Maybe in 2 years at our 5 year anniversary, we'll see if I come out on top.

Miscellaneous food pictures

Pinkberry - Yum!

Mickey Mouse shaped waffles.

I paid a disgusting amount of money for this breakfast.

Oh well, I'm on vacation and it was our anniversary.

Mickey shaped sourdough bread

Did not buy.

And for my dad, a turkey leg tshirt.

Disneyland and California Adventure

Here are a smattering of pictures from the Disney Parks.  After checking into the hotel, we headed off to California Adventure since it's connected to the hotel.  The day started off great with a quick picture with one of my favorite Pixar characters: Dug!  Oh, how I love Dug.  He totally made the movie Up!

Me, Dug, and the hubster 

(yes, we were the only adults waiting in line to get our picture taken with Dug.

No, I was neither embarrassed nor ashamed)

On the way to Toy Story Midway Mania - Micky Ferris Wheel which we did not ride 

Some of those carts are on tracks which allow them to move depending on what position the wheel is in.

Not our cup of tea

Silliness ensues

Ooohhh, so strong!

Drive by picture of Mickey.  Only suckers wait in line!

Random self shot.  The first one was of the corner of my face and the hubster's button.

Mr. Potato Head

Me and Mr. Potato Head

Ferris Wheel again, this time we had the park photographer take it.

A Bug's Life

Tower of Terror - I will not pay $15 for this picture.

This was not a fun ride.

Lobby of hotel

Lobby of hotel

In front of the fire place in the lobby of our hotel

Brother Bear visit during breakfast

Us and the castle

Us on the Buzz Lightyear ride - this one was emailed to us, so I paid with my information,

but I'm not going to "share" this on Facebook.

Splash Mountain picture - Also not willing to pay $15 for this picture

This is from the second time around.

The first time I was hidden behind the person in front of me.

Disney Pictures

with cheesy Disney effects...

Where did those balloons come from? 

Dug!

Dug again!

Stitch Cameo

Tink x 2

Third Anniversary

The hubster and I always end up going back home to visit my family in August which is right around our wedding anniversary.  August is just a nice time to go back and I find the flights to be cheaper that time of year.  This will be our third anniversary and so far we've done something for everyone.  The first one we went to Walt Disney World in Florida.  The second my parents paid for our hotel in Vegas.  This year will be no different, but on a much smaller scale.  We'll be spending two days and one night at...

As a couple, we've gone at least 2-3 times.  We haven't gone the past few times back to Southern California, so we're due.  We're also hitting up:

For the first time.  When we went to Florida, we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge because the hubster loves Disney and loves to stay on property.  It is convenient and part of the Disney experience.  When we decided to do this short overnight trip, we had talked about where to stay.  There are a lot of options since we'll have one of my parent's cars.  My concern was about cost, location, and parking.  The hubster had brought up staying on property, but Disneyland is nothing in size compared to Disneyworld.  There really isn't an "on-property".  I indulged him and looked up the rates and they were out of our budget.  We tabled that idea and looked into the Anaheim Hilton since I had stayed there before.  It was in walking distance and relatively inexpensive.  I was still holding off on booking because we still hadn't really decided.

Two nights ago, I broached the subject with the hubster again and looked up rates on hotels.com.  Look what  popped up at a significant discount.

So this is where we'll be staying one night at.  It's still more than I would like to spend, but it makes the hubster happy and he's done so well in school and it's his anniversary too.  I'm trying to plan out our itinerary while at the parks to maximize the hotel's features and get our monies worth.  I am sure this will drive him crazy since he's a more go with the flow kind of guy.  To give him credit, it really is a nice looking hotel and I've jogged past it numerous times when I was there for a conference.  Some pictures:

This picture reminds me so much of the Wilderness Lodge in Florida.

I will be taking advantage of this pool.

I also booked dinner reservations at the Napa Rose inside the hotel.  The reservation is at 8:00, but I'm thinking I should move it up so we don't miss the fireworks.  Every time we've gone, we've always left early since we were so tired and also had to drive back down to San Diego.  Maybe this time I'll be able to relax and enjoy the day and not stress out about hitting up all the big rides.  I have been enough times that I shouldn't really care, but it's that whole getting my monies worth thing again.